Slaves to the Corporate Fascist System.

The system is known as Corporate Fascism. And it embraces all sectors of the economy. Under this system, monopolies by privately owned Corporations are created in five important areas.

1. Roads

2. Electricity

3. Water supply

4. Food production

5. Retail.

Once a small group of corporations has control over these areas of society, then it does not matter which political party gets voted into power, because control of these five most important areas is no longer in the hands of the tax paying public, but is in the hands of a small group of very rich individuals. So the public not only pays taxes to the government, but pays heavily for services that were once provided by the government departments with tax payers money.

1. Roads.

All of our major freeways are now Toll roads and owned by private companies. Not only do we pay a fuel levy, recently raised to 28c a litre, to the government for the building and maintenance of our roads, but we also pay heavy toll fees. These toll fees are supposedly to pay for the initial building of the freeway and for on going maintenance. However over a period of time, the amount that the South African motorist is paying in toll fees results in 10% going towards the upkeep of the road and almost 90% going into the pockets of private Corporations. In effect we are not only paying a tax for roads in the form of a fuel levy, but we are also paying private individuals who are not offering a service to the South African public, but who are fleecing the South African public of their hard earned money. Not only that, but the proposed E Toll in Johannesberg is a disaster for all small business development as the cost of this E Toll will have a run on effect and they will soon go bankrupt as their profits will be eaten up by toll fees. The result is that we have the destruction of a strong middle class, which is the engine that drives any strong economy. We are......slaves to their money making racket and we are not getting any benefit for the money we are "investing" in our own country as this benefit is going towards private Corporations and individuals. Here is an example:see full article here: http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/11/25/taking-their-toll-how-a-cosy-club-dominates-sa-s-toll-road-empire

Sanral boss Nazir Alli has signed off a series of deals that appear to benefit an "old boys'" network - specifically Tolplan boss Willie Pienaar and N3 Toll Consortium MD Neil Tolmie - while cheaper bids from new entrants are ignored;

Tolplan is controlled by Pienaar, who first carried out "policy studies" in 1982 that recommended tolling SA's roads. Yet, Tolplan has made a killing by doing feasibility studies on tolling those roads, adjudicating on tenders and, finally, scoring engineering work on the same roads;

Tolplan fired director Lennox Matshaya this month after he accused them of BEE "fronting". Though Matshaya claims Tolplan made billions from Sanral, the company won't say how much it has earned - even going to court to gag Matshaya from speaking to the press. When asked how much Sanral paid Tolplan, Alli told the Sunday Times: "It's got nothing to do with you";

In just three deals clinched between 2009 and 2011 - the N1 north in Limpopo, the N1 south in Gauteng and the Free State, and the N2 north in KwaZulu-Natal - road users are paying R186-million more than they should because Sanral insisted on using a subcontractor with prior business links to Pienaar, Tollink. This is despite numerous gripes that the Tollink electronic system that records toll traffic is prone to crashing and losing data;

The N3 from Johannesburg to Durban was awarded to the N3 Toll Consortium in 1998 only after the tender adjudicator, Tolplan, "revised" its score on one element to favour the consortium, after handwritten comments were made on the tender evaluation by Tolmie, who was Sanral manager at the time. He later quit to become CEO of the N3TC. Tender documents confirm that Schabir Shaik's company, Nkobi Holdings, was a 3% shareholder of the N3TC when it won the bid. Tolmie said there was "no basis" for alleging any wrongdoing on his part;

Sanral and the N3TC collected R2.2-billion in toll fees on the N3 highway in 2009 and 2010 alone, yet the consortium insists on keeping its financials secret;

Electronic Toll Collection (ETC), the firm majority-owned by Austrian company Kapsch, won the tender to operate the Gauteng tolls for R9.9-billion in 2008, boasting 18% black empowerment. But it is estimated that ETC will make far more, while its BEE shareholding has shrunk to 5.8% as Moss Mashishi's Matemeku has sold most of its shares to Kapsch; and

Motorists will pay at least R71-billion in Gauteng tolls over the next 24 years while operators like ETC will get at least R18-billion of that in fees.

Solution: Legislation needs to be passed that all tenders for the building of roads and freeways do not extend or include private Corporate ownership of Toll gates, and that the money that the South African motorist 'Invests"in our road system every time they pay at a toll gate, goes towards the upliftment and betterment of all our transport systems and not into the pockets of private Corporations and individuals.

2. Electricity

South Africa used to have the one of the cheapest electricity rates in the world. This was very good for our economy and very good for small business development. In recent years Eskom has failed the country terribly. Rising costs in electricity has resulted in rising costs in all goods and services and again, has been totally detrimental for small businesses who are struggling to make enough turnover and to cover their costs. Again we see a similar result to the one we have with Toll roads. A strong middle class is reduced to the detriment of the countries economy and where only large Corporations are able to survive.

To make matters even worse, is the proposed Nuclear Power Stations that will cost the tax payer billions. This will put the country into debt, making it a debt driven society, and the billions to be paid back by the tax payer will never be paid off, simply because the interest charged on the loan will always remain larger than the amount paid off. This is a ponzi scheme which puts the tax payer into debt in perpetuity, as well as having to pay ever rising costs for electricity. We are......slaves to their money making racket and we are not getting any benefit for the money we are "investing" in our own country

Solution: Individually we can take ourselves off the grid and go solar. And in the next election make sure that the political party that we vote for has in their plans the establishment of a Solar power station. Germany has recently gone solar and now produces enough solar energy that they can replace 22 Nuclear Power Stations. Solar is cheaper, safer and cleaner than Nuclear or coal. This will reduce the costs to the tax payer and stimulate small business development.

3. Water supply.

This has not been introduced ........ yet. But you can be sure it is in the pipeline. The privatisation of the Water Department again owned by a Corporation. Again we can expect to pay increasing fees for our water and a large part of what we "invest" in our country, will not go towards the betterment of water systems, but will find it's way into the hands of private Corporations and individuals. Between the Toll roads, the rising cost in electricity and water, we are......slaves to their money making racket and we are not getting any benefit for the money we are "investing" in our own country.

Solution: Individually we can take ourselves off the grid as the technology is there for each and everyone of us to become water independent. Atmospheric Water Generators, of the type of Ecoloblue, which runs on solar power would be the equivalent of the geyser in your home or even your fridge. Clean, fresh, unpolluted water and nobody is getting rich off your most basic need. Factories producing these water generators would contribute towards job creation and a whole new industry could be established in this country. see: http://www.ecoloblue.com/

4. Food Production

The patenting of seeds through genetic modification has got to be the most sinister Corporate take over of them all. Over and above the fact that tests done on mice have resulted in an increase in cancers and infertility, the patenting of any food source results in food slavery to Corporate ownership who has patented the seeds and therefore owns them. A farmer can no longer take the seeds from his produce and replant for the next season, because these seeds are "owned"by the corporation. This is particularly tragic in a situation when there is a crop failure. In the past, a crop failure was not a complete disaster, because the farmer had a stock of seeds from previous yields and could replant. With the patenting of seeds, if a farmer has a crop failure he then has to go and buy more seeds, and in many cases, as seen in India, this has resulted in complete bankruptcy for the farmer, many of whom have committed suicide. 70% of South Africa's Maize is now genetically modified. Which means that our basic food is now owned and controlled by a Corporation. GMO also includes Soya, potatoes and rice. Compounding this situation is that these Corporations have also created terminator seeds. In the past, for example, if you bought potatoes, you could seed some of them and replant. Today many potatoes on the selves are terminator potatoes and cannot be planted. They will not propagate.

The end result that these Corporations are aiming at, is to do away with the farmers and replace them with controlled Corporate farming, which will put all food production in the hands of a small group of Corporations and individuals. They hope to achieve a situation where it will be illegal and a criminal offense for anyone to produce their own food and we are......slaves to their money making racket, making them rich and we become ever poorer.

Solution: Support all efforts world wide to get all Genetically Modified products labelled. That way you will know which products not to buy. Support organic produce, support small farmers, stock up on seeds that are not genetically modified and where possible, go back to the old fashioned way where everyone had a vegetable patch in their garden. It is fun, you can feed yourself and you do not have to make someone else rich because of your basic need to eat.

5. Retail.

When I grew up there were vegetable shops, butchers, bakers, hardware stores, the corner cafe..... most of these businesses were owned by families. Then came the concept of the supermarket. And there was thriving competition, Pick n Pay, Checkers, OK Bazaars, Spa. Clothing shops went through the same process. Dress shops and Suit shops soon turned into Edgars, Truworths, etc. This was still healthy. Competition keeps prices in check and adds to variety and choice and most important, people still knew your name and said hello!

However, take a good hard look around. As the years have gone by, these individual companies are slowly but surely being swallowed up into one big corporate giant. Wall Mart is a perfect example. You cannot see the difference between one shopping centre and the next. They are all the same and they all stock the same things. As this animal gobbles up every small business in sight, so we are being gobbled up and turned into consumer robots with very little choice and very little competition between prices and services. Just as an example as to how we really are being turned into sheep, take a look at the new check out tills. You do not even have a choice with these either. Instead you are herded like cattle to slaughter in between bars in single file, and when a number flashes up you are told which till you need to go to in order to sacrifice your hard earned money to the Corporate gods!

Solution: Support small business where ever you can. Know that by doing so you are actually "investing "in the health and welfare of your own economy and not some Corporate Giant who is siphoning off every profit into some offshore bank account and this money will not return to the South African economy as it should do. Also buy South African products. Black Cat Peanut butter and Skip the Skippy!

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